Archive for November, 2007

In an effort to keep our OC Neighbors updated about local event, community news, and special features of the area we feel the need to also keep you informed of situations that are unpleasant. Please read the article below taken from the Orange County Register. It’s about a horrible crime committed against one of our local residents.

We want to do our part to help keep the community safe. We have created webistes for some of the neighborhoods we sell in and hope that they might be useful in helping neighbors communicate. If you would like us to help your neighborhood create a “Community Site” please let us know. Check out the site we’ve created for Laguna Village at www.lagunavillageinfo.com .

Together we can create a safer place for us all to live.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Woman sexually assaulted in Laguna Hills

Authorities are investigating the alleged sexual attack of a 22-year-old woman Sunday night at her condominium complex.

LAGUNA HILLS – A man suspected of sexually assaulting a 22-year-old woman in the spa of her condominium complex has been detained, authorities said Monday.

The man, who lives in the same complex as the victim, is being questioned by investigators, said Jim Amormino of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Although the incident is still under investigation, Amormino said investigators determined that the man was at the spa when the victim was there.

The alleged attack occurred about 9 p.m. Sunday when the woman was in the spa of her gated Laguna Hills Village condominium complex on the 23300 block of Santa Vittoria. That’s when a man carrying a six-pack of beer entered through an open gate, sat on a nearby bench and tried to initiate a conversation with her, Amormino said.

“She tried to leave. He grabbed her by her hair, forced her back in the Jacuzzi and then he jumped in,” Amormino said. “He then raped her.”

After the alleged assault, the man who is described as being 5’7″ tall and having short black cropped hair, walked to a nearby parking lot and got into a light-colored Ford Explorer and sped away, Amormino said.

About 11 a.m. Monday, as Amormino answered media questions, he noticed a man driving slowly by the complex in a gray Ford Explorer.

“I jumped in my car and followed him,” said Amormino, who was with the Los Angeles Police Department for 22 years. “I turned over the license plate number to investigators and they located the suspect at his nearby home.”

The man being questioned lives about a mile from where the attack took place, Amormino said.

“I was lucky to see him drive by and I got suspicious,” Amormino said. “Sometimes you get a gut feeling and I got that gut feeling.”